User reviews

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started Bodies. The reviews were mostly good but the only actor I recognized was Stephen Graham so I thought how good could it be? Well, it was pretty damn good as was the entire cast. It's a time travel series that reminded me of Dark but easier to follow along. It's about four different detectives, in four different time periods, all investigating the exact same murder. It may start a little slow for some but stay with it because I promise it picks up. The best thing about it is it doesn't end with some cliffhanger, it has a very satisfying ending. If you enjoy sci-fi and time travel then give this a try. You won't be disappointed.

Bodies was much better than I thought it would be. It's one of those shows where you need to watch it and not be doing other things while watching. Pay attention because the story really pays off. Each episode just got better and better. The entire cast was fantastic, they really pull you into the story. Every episode just continues to add pieces of the puzzle in such intriguing and entertaining ways. I couldn't stop watching, I binged all 8 episodes in less than two days. After just finishing it I'm thinking of watching it again because now that I know the ending I think it would be fun seeing all the stuff I missed.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that any plot involving time travel, especially any that attempts to deal with the so-called grandfather paradox, will necessarily be so full of holes that, if it were a fishing net, only the great whales would be endangered by it. In that regard, Bodies certainly does not disappoint, piling impossibility upon impossibility at a head spinning pace. However it is the panache and insouciance with which such concerns are dealt that determines whether a show will emerge battered to death or greatly loved. With great performances from the lead characters, particularly Jacob Fortune Lloyd as the thoroughly corrupt wartime cop whose heart is melted by a child (a charming live-action debut for Chloe Raphael), and a brilliant script that revealed only as much as necessary at each stage and kept you guessing until the very end, Bodies easily triumphs over its unavoidable absurdity.

As a weaving of four stories this works well. The sets are great and even the thirty years into the future thread wasn't too out there.

There are a few good characters, some good light and shade and some that develop nicely as the series progresses.

Everything starts with a body being discovered in a lane in London and develops with four different time lines, Victorian, World War Two, present day and thirty years into the future. At first there is a lovely kind of what-is-going-on feel to the story, but come the middle of it, you realise that it's just the same thing that's been done so many times in so many other sci-fi programmes and films that it becomes more and more disappointing and eventually so incredibly and sadly predictable.

Time travel. Hmm. It's so tough to pull off - the key is to make it entertaining, fill it with quality acting and writing, and just do enough to make it believable to you don't end up trying to figure out the science or poke holes in paradoxes.

Bodies is about as good as anything there is in the time travel sub-genre of science-fiction. If you liked shows such as Dark or The Devil's Hour, or loved Predestination or any of the smarter time travel stories around then you'll be very happy with this surprising gem. It's tense, atmospheric, genuinely original and wholly unpredictable.

The historical periods depicted are done so in a rich and convincing manner, particularly the 1890s. The modern-day cops are entirely believable, and the depiction of the future - always the trickiest to sell - kinda works too. After watching a seemingly endless run of TV shows with immensely dislikable characters, it's refreshing to have protagonists to root for - especially the antihero DS Whiteman played by the exceptional Jacob Fortune-Lloyd.

Among the sea of dross being pumped out by Netflix and Disney+ in particular, Bodies really stands out.

I must admit this is right up my alley. I'm a hardcore Whovian, Trekkie, and lover of both comics-turned-film (Marvel) period drama (think Downton Abbey). I believe it's a strange combination; I've never met anyone who enjoys all of these genres. Until now, maybe? This series is the exquisitely crafted intersection of all of them. It weaves together the lived and experiences of 4 people, scattered across time in London. Each time period is crafted, from costumes to music, with care and precision. It's both hopeful and tragic, and so compelling that I'm about to rewatch the entire series. If this is read by anyone affiliated in any way with its creation, know that you are brilliant. And your work is loved.

Hokum but I enjoyed it all except the WWII London police car sirens which weren't fitted until 1963 when they also introduced the blue flashing beacons. They just had bells but like all science fiction fans I do tend to be obsessively pedantic. I was prepared to accept all the other minor errors but those police car bells are a sound of those times which transport me back in time which the film makers missed. I suspect that those not liking science fiction will find the plot difficult to follow and the continual time shifts confusing but the production isn't made for non science fiction fans so if this isn't your style, don't bother struggling with the plot. :-)

I can't count the number of Netflix movies and series I have invested in only to be hit with what I call "The Netflix Non-Ending Ending". You know the ones - dead stops where it feel as if the writers just ran out of steam, and finally said eh, forget about it...let the audience figure it out for themselves. So frustrating! Bodies stands out to me if for no other reason than it has an actual ending. There is a lot going on so pay attention or you'll find yourself constantly rewinding to figure out what they're talking about. Time travel stories are exhausting to some degree but I found this one fun and engaging. Worth the binge!

I am enjoying the series, if I close my eyes during the gorey scenes where history is being mutilated....

It's impossible to be 100% accurate, but sometimes the mistakes are distracting. Like many contemporary productions, this series fails to understand how people behaved in the past. There are two instances in particular that particularly stand out.

In 1890 London, the molly house with two men dressed up in corsets on the street simply wouldn't have happened in daylight in front of the police because they would have been immediately arrested. It wasn't okay to act gay in any way in public in 1890.

The other most egregious errors occur in the 1941 blitz scenes, with people screaming and running for shelter from their apartments while bombs are falling in the neighbourhood, and the crowds then being denied access to an underground station for shelter. Anyone who has ever talked to anyone who lived in London during the Blitz knows that Londoners were prepared and calmly resigned to the bombings. There were usually many minutes between the first alerts and the first bombs - enough time to make a thermos of tea and dress warmly. There were also alternate street-level shelters to the undergrounds, and many people just defied fate and waited it out at home. As well, the cars have too much light being projected from the head lamps, and the detective's apartment had no blackout curtains, so sitting in the apartment with the lights on was illegal, and he would have been fined or arrested. Covering light from windows would have been tested in drills by ARP officers from the home army in the early months of the war, well before the Blitz began.

It's too bad these blatant errors exist because they pull down the quality of the production. Period set films really need historians to check basic facts, and directors need to LISTEN to them.

All I could think of while I binge watched this series was how much it was like Dark, but nowhere near as good in any way, even the whole bootstrap paradox storyline.

The only really good things about it were the main protagonist being a Muslim woman (nice to see a woman being portrayed as strong and smart) and the idea that we're all so desperately in search for love that killing thousands can almost be justified and how lack of love, especially as a child creates adults with more emotional needs.

Otherwise, if I could go back in time, I'd probably avoid watching it just because it's been done before.

Otherwise it's a decent watch for a few hours of switching off from reality.

This show really reminded me of Dark and 1899, but more succinct and easier to follow. Timey wimey mystery thriller set between 1890-present times. The acting is excellent, Kyle Soller (aka Syril Karn) and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd especially were fantastic, and after a bit of a slow start (stick with it), moves along at a good pace. For me it's one of my top 5 sci-fi shows . And very underrated , I literally not seeing anybody talking about this show . The finale is one of the best I've seen in recent memory, very emotional, and I'm speechless for Stephan graham acting , it was very unique . Highly recommend!

Loved the show. Loved Dark even more but this is fun. Loved the casting of Hassan, she was great and loved a main character that's not a middle aged white man as a police officer.

One thing that's horrible and distracting, the low budget blue lenses young Elias has. His natural eye color should be fine, nobody would probably have noticed or cast someone else if it's distracting. Every intense scene is ruined by his crazy Halloween party lenses.

I would have loved it if the music and sounds where a bit more original. This would have added to the overall vibe of the show. The music is a bit generic.

Loved how everything and everyone is intertwined. Not as deep as Dark, that was actual masterpiece and I should recommend that one over this one to watch if you haven't.

It's entertaining though and fun to watch.

Initially, I was 'only' a little interested because it was kind of slow to start AND I knew next to nothing about it except that a friend had recommended it. We have very similar tastes in shows, so I trusted them, obviously.

Anyway, I was hooked by about halfway through the first episode but I didn't realise HOW hooked I was until the episode ended and I went straight to the next rather than to bed like I should have.

The core conceit may not be anything new (most time-travel-hijinks movies and shows seem to stick to the same two or three ideas for some reason) but the cast, and the way the story unfolds, is just REALLY well done, especially Gabriel Howell as young Elias in the 'now' timeline. He's really only kind of an afterthought for most of the show but he absolutely comes into his own at the end, and absolutely steals the entire series in his relatively short but powerful spotlight moments. That being said, the rest of the cast are equally good, especially Amaka Okafor and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as DS Hasan and DS Whiteman respectively.

A small part of me wants more of this, because it was so well done, but that small part is an idiot because 'more' would likely ruin it since they told a complete story. I guess I just want more of each of the cast?

Just like many things we see on Netflix recently, this is a show with hooks and no substance. The Causality Time Paradox is so overwhelmingly insulting that I only kept watching as one does a train wreck. Fortunately I'm catching up to Netflix marketing formula department in realizing that when there are too many hooks that it is likely not going to be a very logically cohesive story. This has proven to be true. Despite my realization of this, I see others who are completely fooled by it and, thus, the trend will continue. They pulled this stunt with "1899": All Hooks with no real story telling. Then the recent season of Black Mirror was a shadow of its former self. All the while increasing fees!? Someone is placing formula and money over content and I'm about ready to vote "no" with mine.

I expect to see on Apple TV. In th last couple of month Netflix release mostly social media style shows and movies. This show is totally differed and after canceling 1899 a surprise as mystery thriller based on a comic. 1 murder victim and 4 time lines with clear different production design and colouring. A dense production based on excellently written scripts. Compliments to the director. None of this would have been possible if the cast had not been so fortunate. Especially the choice of the 4 detectives is phenomenal. A joy of acting down to the smallest supporting role. Even though the composition of the pictures is in the finest cinemascope, I would have wished for a corresponding camera here as well as in the setting of the various time series, but that is complaining on a high level. A happy hand also with the soundtrack.

The episodes fly by and the nice thing is, like a good book, you can watch the show more than once. Then you'll definitely get more of the little Easter eggs. The scene changes between the timelines are wonderful.

I am thrilled..